Can't lose weight

A watched kettle never boils.... try making enjoying your exercise your goal rather than some over-simplified metric. (Ps, it will take time)

dorener wrote: »

I do not use a scale and I just started tracking calories but averaging 1100-1300 and I drink a lot of water. My typical day is 2 egg whites and 2 turkey sausages for breakfast or a bowl of puffed rice with unsweetened coconut milk. Snack is a magic pop with polaners fruit, lunch is zero point tomato spinach soup, snack is a piece of fruit and dinner is a salad with some chicken and feta. Sometimes I'll eat some lowfat cottage cheese if hungry in evening or a small bowl of special k. And I typically have a teaspoon of peanut butter at some point during the day

If you just began tracking, I think it's too early to conclude that you can't lose weight. You have to give it a chance to work.

I recommend a food scale for greater accuracy. Things like sausage, cereal, fruit, meat, peanut butter, and cheese can vary widely in calorie count if you're using measuring cups instead of the actual weight.

When you're already at a healthy weight, accuracy in calorie counting becomes even more important. Your deficit to lose weight is going to be small and can be easily wiped out by extra calories consumed in those foods.

Your normal BMI ranges from 107-135 lbs. Maybe concentrate on the right types of food to improve your nutrition instead of Frank weight loss.

What they said about the food scale, but also make sure you add in strength training exercises. I don't know what some of those are like the t25 you mentioned. It looks like you do a lot of cardio. Try some basic strength training exercises if you don't already. They help burn calories longer than cardio exercises. Here's an example: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-30-day-strength-building-challenge-for-beginners/

dorener wrote: »

One very key thing I inadvertently left out which I know does impact things is that I quit smoking Jan 1. So any recommendations on what more I can do to increase metabolism would be appreciated. In terms of how I look naked - there in lies the problem - I have a very small upper body, and carry everything in hips, thighs, butt and even around the knees.

On the naked look bit, strength training is your friend! You may see some temporary weight gain from water retention when you start working out, but it'll make a remarkable difference to your body. Us women need all the muscle that we can get. Nobody needs osteoporosis. If you're new at strength training, I highly recommend Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.

You do not have a slowed metabolism. Why do you think you do?

dorener wrote: »

It is known that smoking increases metabolism so when you quit it automatically slows down. If you quit smoking and consumed the exact same calorie count and activity level you would gain weight.

My understanding was smoking suppresses appetite so you tend to eat less. When people quit, they experience both an increase in appetite and some people substitute their old habit of smoking with snacking, both of which can lead to weight gain.

OP, you have a lot of misconceptions on "weight" loss. I assume 110 lbs is your happy place because at some point you weighed that and you like the way you looked then. You can get back to that weight but you may look completely different if you lose too much lean body mass. Don't worry about the number on the scale--you are at a healthy weight. Your goal is fat loss, not weight loss,

You are eating a lot more than you think. With all your exercise, walking while working, and taking care of 4 kids, your body needs a lot of calories to do that.

Smoking does not increase metabolism nor does quitting slow it down. Quitting can increase hunger or you can try to sooth craving with food--that is why quitting smoking leads to weight gain.

Start resistance training and get a digital food scale.

Read the posts here

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest

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OP, you are already at a healthy weight and are trying to lose @ 5 lbs. No one is really one weight. Your weight will fluctuate as much as 5-10 lbs per day based on water-weight, exercise, digestion, etc. You could drive yourself crazy trying to get the scale to hit this one perfect number, and then the next morning it's just going to be a different number anyway. Rather than focus on the number on the scale, maybe focus on how you feel and look.

There are no "tricks" or magic foods or exercises. Plug your stats into MFP, choose a goal of losing one-half-pound per week, get a food scale and log your food & drink accurately and consistently, and get whatever exercise you can. You won't lose weight every week, that's not how it works, even if you do everything perfect. And you won't be perfect, no one is! Weigh yourself every week for at least 6 weeks. If after 6 weeks you feel like you aren't headed in the right direction, lower your calories a smidge and try again.

Losing vanity pounds is slow, hard work. Be patient, don't do anything drastic, and keep your eye on the long-term. Good luck :drinker:

dorener wrote: »

It is known that smoking increases metabolism so when you quit it automatically slows down. If you quit smoking and consumed the exact same calorie count and activity level you would gain weight.

Really? ?
What study?

MeThinks thou art confused.

Hey OP. I figured I'd chime in because you and I have similar stats. I'm 5'3" and I weigh 113 right now. Getting to 120 was easy, but it took me a bit more time to get from 119 to 115. I took a diet break for a little bit, but getting to 115 took patience, staying active, and most importantly, my food logging had to be done with the utmost precision. I weighed, and still weigh, everything to the gram. These days I'm so active that I can be more flexible with my calories and estimations like when I eat out, but when you're already lean the food scale is going to be your best friend for weight loss.

You seem to be fairly active, so I'd say that you not losing on 1100 to 1300 is a bit weird. I workout 5 to 6 days per week for 30 to 60 minutes. I do a mix of cardio and strength training. I also walk 12000 to 17000 steps per day. I'm still losing weight on 1600 to 2300 calories per day depending on my activity level, so you should definitely be seeing results at 1100 to 1300. This is why I recommend the food scale. It's actually really easy to be off by a few hundred calories.

Also, consider your TOM. During ovulation, my weight spikes up by two to four pounds. I've been weighing in at 112.8 to 113.5 every morning, but this morning I was 115.8. I know I didn't gain that weight, so I just have to let my body do its thing. You may be at that point in your cycle so it looks like you haven't lost any weight when you have.